2026 European Men's Handball Championship

2026 EHF European Men's Handball Championship
EM i håndbold for mænd 2026 (in Danish)
EM i håndball for menn 2026 (in Norwegian)
EM i handboll för herrar 2026 (in Swedish)
Tournament details
Host countries Denmark
 Norway
 Sweden
Venue(s)4 (in 4 host cities)
Dates15 January – 1 February[1]
Teams24 (from 1 confederation)
← Previous
Next →

The 2026 EHF European Men's Handball Championship, commonly referred to as the EHF Euro 2026, will be the 17th edition of the EHF European Men's Handball Championship, the biennial international men's handball championship of Europe organized by EHF. It will be co-hosted by Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 15 January to 1 February 2026.

Bid process

Main article: 2026 European Men's Handball Championship bidding process

Bids

On 11 May 2021 it was announced that the following nations sent in an official expression of interest:[1]

Host selection

As only the Scandinavian bid remained it was unanimously selected at the 14th EHF Extraordinary Congress on 20 November 2021.[3][4]

Qualification

Main article: 2026 European Men's Handball Championship qualification

Qualified teams

Country Qualified as Date qualification was secured Previous appearances in tournament
 Denmark Co-host 20 November 2021 15 (1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024)
 Norway 11 (2000, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024)
 Sweden 15 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024)
 France Winner of 2024 European Championship 26 January 2024 16 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024)

Note: Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year.

Venues

A first draft of the venues was proposed in August 2023.[5] The tournament will be played across four venues in four cities: one in Denmark (Herning, Groups A and B), one in Norway (Oslo, Groups C and D), and two in Sweden (Malmö and Kristianstad, Groups E and F).[6] The main round will take place in Herning and Malmö, with the former organising the final weekend.[7] In regards to Norway, Oslo was chosen over Trondheim, after negotiations with Trondheim fell through due to financial reasons.[8]

In September 2024, one team per venue was selected. Denmark will play in Herning (Group B), Norway in Oslo (Group C) and Sweden in Malmö (Group E). If they qualify, Germany will play in Herning (Group A), the Faroe Islands in Oslo (Group D) and Iceland in Kristianstad (Group F).[9]

Norway Oslo, Norway
Sweden Kristianstad, Sweden
Telenor Arena
Capacity: 15,000 		Kristianstad Arena
Capacity: 4,700
Denmark Herning, Denmark Sweden Malmö, Sweden
Jyske Bank Boxen
Capacity: 12,500 		Malmö Arena
Capacity: 13,000

Draw

On 2 September 2024, the three co-hosts were allowed to choose a nation to be drawn in their country if they qualified. Denmark chose Germany, Norway picked Faroe Islands while Sweden selected Iceland.[10][11][9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Seven nations bid for EHF Euros in 2026 and 2028". European Handball Federation. 11 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Schweiz bündelt Kräfte mit Spanien und Portugal: Ausrichter für Handball-Europameisterschaften zeichnen sich ab". handball world (in German). 20 October 2021. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  3. ^ "EHF EURO hosts for 2026 & 2028 confirmed". European Handball Federation. 20 November 2021. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  4. ^ "The 14th EHF Extraordinary Congress". European Handball Federation. 20 November 2021. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  5. ^ "COMPETITIONS COMMISSION MEETING" (PDF). Renaissance Wien Hotel, Wien, Austria: European Handball Federation. 25 August 2024. p. 10. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  6. ^ ""Exactly what we want to show to the outside world"". www.eurohandball.com. EHF. 27 January 2024.
  7. ^ Wijkström, Maja (January 28, 2024). "EM 2026 – nästa stora mästerskap på hemmaplan! - Handbollslandslaget".
  8. ^ "Telenor Arena blir norsk VM-arena i 2025 | handball.no". handball.no - Norges Håndballforbund.
  9. ^ a b "List of seeded teams for Men's EHF EURO 2026 confirmed". eurohandball.com. 2 September 2024.
  10. ^ https://danskhaandbold.dk/nyheder/herning-bliver-dansk-vaertsby-for-maendenes-em-i-2026
  11. ^ https://www.handball.no/nyheter/2024/09/em-2026-disse-herrelagene-er-klare/